A young couple in China reportedly lived off just 5 yuan a day ($1) to save up enough money for a down payment on a house.
Qiu Guoying from Inner Mongolia and Hao Ranran from Hebei met and fell in love four years ago while working at a factory in Baoding, Hebei province. Despite being very poor, the young couple got married (wearing borrowed clothes) and Qiu promised Hao that he would give her a good life. In order to afford to buy a house, the couple agreed on three rules: no shopping, no vacations and no dining out.
Down payments for homes in the area are at least 100,000 yuan ($16,500). The couple's combined monthly salary was a meagre 4,000 yuan ($660) so they came up with a plan to only spend 5 yuan per day (aside from bills).
When the story broke online, many praised the couple's determination:
"Well done, having both a dream and taking action [to achieve that dream], impressive."
"Loving, hardworking, and frugal, they’ll have a happy life [in the future], and I wish the young couple the best."
Qiu and Hao will currently be celebrating Spring Festival... in their new home. The couple moved in just before the holiday started, having finally saved up enough for the down payment. Perhaps the pair should be an inspiration to us all, showing what we can achieve if we are truly determined. Or they could just be a poignant reminder of the severe income inequality in China and the yawning gap between average wages and the cost of houses in a bubble market.
[Image via Flickr]
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